COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - An educational farm owned by the University of Missouri near Columbia is under new management and focusing more on research into food systems in an effort to bring in more research and funding sources that would secure its future.
Supporters of the nonprofit Jefferson Farm, which had been used for school field trips and experimental crop research, had questioned earlier this year whether it could remain open after several important funding sources dried up, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/14i68t5).
Board President Jerry Nelson said the farm will changes its focus to research on food systems, including agricultural production, processing and nutrition, which should attract expanded opportunities for research and funding. Restaurant chains, grocery stores and food product companies are interested in food systems research, he said.
The 67-acre farm opened in 2006 and was initially well-funded, receiving more than $2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Monsanto, MFA and other public and private entities. But funding had been dramatically reduced by 2011, leaving Jefferson Farm with a nearly $900,000 mortgage.
"Because of our expanded interests, it opens up different ideas of programs we can offer," Nelson said. "Types of funding will be similar, but the spectrum of potential funders will be expanded. The food industry could have a bigger role."
The board also hired Mark Clervi, a commercial real estate consultant and investor, as farm director on July 1. Clervi and the five-member board of directors have restructured the farm's debt with IFF, a not-for-profit lender.
"We will grow carefully and responsibly within our resources," Clervi said. "That's something you learn in the business world."
Clervi, who attended Missouri before earning a master's degree in business administration at the University of Texas, spent a 20-year career in Southern California real estate.
Nelson said he hopes community volunteers will help with the farm's educational programs and its maintenance. There are plans to add a part-time education coordinator and farm manager but staffing will be low. In 2008, 11 employees collected $980,000 in salaries and benefits.
The board also will expand from five to seven members this year. All the current board members have held agricultural research positions at universities and Nelson said he hopes new board members will include business leaders and members of the health and food industries.